The Best Man
by Mr. GOP 88
Summary: Castle and Beckett are preparing for their wedding and Ryan is Castle's best man. It sounds easy, but getting everyone to the wedding in one piece turns out to be anything but.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer**: _Castle_ and the recognizable characters are property of the folks at ABC and their creators who make a lot more money than I do. This is for pure entertainment purposes.

_Howdy everyone. I hope you had a good holiday season. Our show is back on very soon (just saw the sneak peek and can't wait). Over the hiatus I've been working on this story .It takes place three months in the future with Ryan and Jenny having had their baby, a son named Nick. It's a little less angsty than I usually write. I hope you all enjoy it._

* * *

Chapter One: Ask and You Shall Receive. Sometimes.

After work tonight, Beckett and Castle head back to his place. Martha is out so it is just the two of them. Castle opened up a bottle of red wine and the two of them sit and talk. They start off with discussing work, but the conversation quickly turns into one about the wedding.

"What about the roof of the Empire State Building?"

Beckett gives him her patented look whenever he offers one of his crazy ideas.

"We already discussed this Castle; we're going for a church."

"So we bring a priest to the roof with us. Doesn't that count as a church?"

"No."

"You never let me have any fun. At least it's a better plan than honeymooning in Bosnia."

"Which was also your idea." She reminds him.

"You wanted to go someplace special and unique." He responds.

"A former warzone wasn't exactly on my list."

"So I have to scratch off Cambodia and Rwanda too. Seriously Kate, if you're going to put restrictions like this on where we honeymoon, then planning the wedding will be rough."

She rolls her eyes at him and tries to steer the conversation into a more productive area. "So Lanie said yes." She tells him, taking a sip of wine.

"I'll bet that was hard. Let me guess…" Castle tries to imitate Lanie's facial expressions and puts his hand on his hip the way she does. "I'm betting she said 'well girl, it's about damn time'." He says in a dead accurate imitation of Lanie's voice.

Beckett laughs. "It went something like that. Actually that's exactly what she said but then even Lanie got a little teary-eyed."

"Definitely didn't expect that."

"Lanie is still a girl Castle. It happens."

That's a very plausible explanation for him. "Great, so we have the Maid of Honor checked off the list. At least some things are coming together nicely." He comments.

"Aren't you forgetting something Castle?" Beckett raises an eyebrow at him.

"Did I not kiss you when we got home? I'm terribly sorry." He leans in and gives her a quick kiss.

She smiles. "No, but I appreciate the thought. You haven't asked your would-be Best Man."

"Oh right, that. Well, I don't know if he'll accept."

"Come on Castle, he'd be honored to do it. You know him."

"I know, but it's a lot of work. Maybe I should just ask Alexis? No one has been there for me longer than her."

"That's true she has, but you know about the duties of the Best Man. Imagine your daughter being involved in things like planning a bachelor party."

He pauses and thinks about that for a second. Castle knows that Alexis would be perfectly capable of performing every duty of the Best Man, including throwing a bachelor party. However, the thought of his daughter deciding things like clubs and strippers is not one that he particularly relishes. "You're right as usual."

"I know I am, plus I need another bridesmaid and I was hoping to ask her."

"She'll be honored…wait, please tell me I don't have to include Pi in the wedding." Castle shudders at the thought of asking his daughter's… boyfriend (he still cringes at that) to play any part in the ceremony.

"It's our wedding; if you don't want to have him involved you don't have to." Castle's face relaxes at Beckett's words. That is, until she smiles and adds a caveat. "Or you could make him your Best Man."

Castle nearly chokes on the wine he's sipping. "No offense, but I'd rather have Captain Gates as my Best Man than Pi."

Beckett laughs. "Why don't you ask your first choice and we'll go from there."

"That sounds like a much better idea. I'll ask him tomorrow."

"I'm glad. Finish up your wine Mr. Castle. Your fiancé is waiting." She gives him a coy smile as she heads towards their bedroom.

"Coming!" Castle hurriedly drinks the last of his wine before following her.

* * *

_The next morning…_

It is a very early morning, which has become the normal over the last three months ever since my son Nick was born. He's precious, adorable, and the most beautiful child in the world, but he wants a lot of attention and he's not shy about asking, make that crying, for it. Jenny and I took the classes, I read the books and the blogs and operated under the illusion that I was at least partially prepared to be a father. That theory has been blow out the window over the last three months.

I try unsuccessfully to stifle a yawn and rub the sleep out of my eyes.

"Nick still going on at night?" Javier asks me as he drinks from his coffee mug.

I nod. "It's a battle of wills between Jenny and me versus Nick and he's winning. It's not even close."

Javier tries to look sympathetic, but he's fighting very hard to suppress a grin from breaking out all over his face. Ignoring him, I try to focus on work.

I'm not five minutes into work when another voice calls out to me. "Hey Ryan, can I talk to you in private for a moment?"

I look up from my computer at the writer and take a sip of coffee. Castle's face is much more serious than I'm used to seeing.

"Uh, sure Castle." I get up from my desk and cast a quick glance at my partner. He shrugs his shoulders, not knowing any more than me. Beckett is talking with Captain Gates, so she isn't here to give me any ideas either.

We head into the break room. Castle makes sure that no one is inside and closes the door. He also checks to see that no one is watching. Whatever this is, he's taking it very seriously.

"You didn't kill anyone did you?" I ask bluntly.

"What! No, it's nothing like that."

"Just checking."

"How's the baby?" He asks with some hesitation.

"Fine..."

"Great. So Kevin, um…well as you know, Beckett and I are getting married…" He seems at a loss for words, which is unheard of for Castle.

"Yeah…" I don't know where he's going with this.

"Well, I had a favor I wanted to ask of you."

"Okay…" Either this is the worst conversation opener I've ever heard or he's so tongue-tied he doesn't know what to say. For a guy who's so good with words, he's having a hell of a time speaking.

"I mean…it's no big deal if you don't want to. I'd get it, but I was thinking…err wanting…" He sputters.

I take pity on him. "Castle, why don't you try just asking me what it is you want?"

"Right." He takes a deep breath before finally asking. "Kevin, will you be my Best Man?"

It certainly wasn't the favor I expected. After all, we've known each other for 6 years now. I'm sure he's got friends who have been around longer than that, ones who would know funny anecdotes about growing up or going to school together. Me? I'm one of the guys his fiancé works with. Sure, we hang out, and I've grown to regard Castle as a friend and a part of our team. But the Best Man at his wedding? I have to admit, it catches me off guard. The answer is obvious, but being asked is a surprise.

"Absolutely Castle, I'd be honored."

The writer beams. For an uncomfortable second, I think he's going to hug me, which would go over so well if anyone saw it. At the very least, Javi would never let me live it down. Trying to prevent that, I pose the question I can't seem to answer:

"Why me?"

He looks at me thoughtfully for a second before answering "Despite being ruggedly handsome, very wealthy, and hugely popular with the ladies…"

"Not to mention humble." I shoot him the 'you're being ridiculous Castle' look that we've all mastered.

He's gotten that look so many times, even from me, that he's completely unfazed by it. "Well that's my number one attribute. Despite all of those things, I don't have a lot of guy friends. You and Esposito have taken me in since I started coming here to the Precinct. I appreciate that."

No wonder Castle gets along well with the Mayor. That's a classical politician response; he answers only a part of the question, the part he wants to answer. If that's his logic, then he could have just as easily picked Javi instead of me.

He's not done yet though "and Kevin, you saved Kate's life on that rooftop."

So there it is, the reason Castle's asking. "I told you before; you don't have to thank me for that. Beckett's my partner. She would've done the same for me."

Castle shakes his head. "Doesn't matter. You saved her life, and almost lost your friendship with her and Esposito because of it. If you had done anything different, there wouldn't be a wedding. I can never repay that. And I would still be asking you even if that never happened. You're a good friend Kevin. Besides" his voice reverts back to his normal, far less serious tone "you're actually married and you know a hell of a lot more about this than Esposito does, Mr. Hopeless Romantic."

That makes me smile, mostly because it's absolutely true. Javier is my partner and best friend. If I hadn't had to appease Jenny's family, he would've been my Best Man without a second thought. But he doesn't know beans about romance. Oh sure, he talks a big game, but that's Javier. Besides, if he's so good at it, then why are Lanie and he still single?

"So that's still a yes?"

"Yes Castle, I accept."

"Thanks Kevin, I really, really appreciate it." Instead of the hug I was sure was coming, he settles for a firm handshake. That I have no problem with. "Oh, and could you not mention this yet? Kate and I want to get a few more things worked out first. Except to Lanie of course; she's the Maid of Honor."

"Sure, no problem."

With his question out of the way, we both head out of the break room. He goes to find Beckett and I go back to my desk.

Javier is looking at me with curiosity. "So what was that about bro?"

"Nothing." I say casually.

"I doubt it. He didn't kill someone did he?"

I let out a laugh. "That's the first thing I asked him, and the answer is no."

"So what is it?"

"I promised Castle I wouldn't say anything."

"What is this, high school? I'm your partner bro, you can tell me."

"Well you certainly sound like you're in high school, but no. Trust me Javi, he'll tell you when he's ready."

"Let me guess, he wants to give you parenting advice?"

"No, although if he has a magic formula to make a baby stop crying at two in the morning, I'd love to hear it."

"So nothing about the baby. How about marital advice? After all, you're the one on your first marriage and he's heading into his third."

"I'm on my _only _marriage." I say definitively. "But no, nothing about being married."

"Then what is it?" He can really act like a dog with a bone when he wants to know something. It's great for a cop, but a little annoying when trying to keep a secret from him.

"I'm not going to tell you." I smirk at him, enjoying this little bit of leverage I have over my partner.

"Whatever Ryan, but you know that I'm not going to let this go."

"I would be shocked if you didn't Javi."

* * *

_Good? Bad? Otherwise. If you have any thoughts, suggestions or ideas, I'd love to hear them. Just so you know, as a guy who has never been married or engaged, I'm not intimately familiar with everything on the bridal side of the process. That's my disclaimer. Chapter Two will be coming soon._


	2. Lanie's Words of Wisdom

_Hello again everyone. Thanks for everyone's interest in this story. Here is Chapter 2. I hope you enjoy it._

* * *

Chapter 2: Lanie's Words of Wisdom

Right after Javi makes his vow to find out what's going on, Beckett comes out of Captain Gates's Office and retrieves her loyal puppy of a fiancé. Castle whispers something to her and she responds by giving me a brief smile; he must've told her.

Javi is watching the whole thing, and he doesn't hide his combination of curiosity and slight annoyance.

"Alright bro, what's going on?"

"Nothing Javi." I tell him unconvincingly.

"Nothing my ass."

"I told you I'm not saying anything."

"Fine, I don't care." He says grouchily. Does he really think I'm going to fall for that?

I can't resist teasing him. "You better not make that face around Nick. I don't want him learning how to pout watching his godfather."

"Whatever." He waves his hand to dismiss me.

In the grand scheme of things, this secret isn't a big deal, so I do feel a little guilty at keeping it from him. But I promised Castle I wouldn't say anything and I intend to honor the promise. It isn't my secret to tell anyways; it's his and Beckett's wedding and they can let everyone else know about it when they are good and ready to.

A little later on in the morning, while Javi is working on an intimidating stack of paperwork and Beckett and Castle are still out, I head down to talk with the Maid of Honor. Coming into the morgue, I spot Lanie and unfortunately, Perlmutter as well. True, Perlmutter could keep a secret since he simply doesn't care, but he'd also make all sorts of comments that I could live without.

I'm starting to think that Lanie might have a sixth sense. The moment she spots me, she sends Perlmutter off on some kind of errand. And before I can even get a word out, she's already examining me with that piercing look she gets.

"Castle must have asked you" She says by way of introduction.

"How did…"

"Kevin, please; you're married and have planned a wedding before. Did Jenny's Maid of Honor know absolutely _everything_ that was going on?"

I slowly nod my head as I remember the various events heading up to our wedding. As usual, Lanie is right. Jenny's Maid of Honor, her Big Sister at her sorority, _had_ known almost everything. Hell, she seemed to know a lot more than I did and it was my wedding.

"I guess congratulations are in order then for you Ms. Maid of Honor."

Lanie smiles a broad smile. "You too Mr. Best Man."

"So the two of us will be walking down the aisle together. I can't wait to see the look on Javi's face when he finds out about that."

"Does he not know about this yet?"

"No. Castle asked me to keep it under wraps for a while. It's been driving Javi crazy all morning." She doesn't seem to be enjoying Javier's annoyance nearly as much as I am.

"So are you ready for everything that comes with this?" She  
asks.

"It shouldn't be too hard. Just organize the bachelor party and give a toast at the wedding. No big deal."

"No big deal huh?" She gives me that very skeptical look she has when she's examining a body at a crime scene. "You really don't remember much about this do you Kevin?"

"My Best Man didn't do anything for my wedding. Hell, he didn't even give me a proper bachelor party." Of course, my Best Man was Jenny's little brother, someone I barely knew.

"You didn't get the Best Man you actually wanted." She says, almost as if she's reading my mind. "And this is Richard Castle and Kate Beckett we're talking about. The groom will be as much of a prima donna as the bride, if not more so."

I open my mouth to respond to her, but close it quickly. She's right; I hadn't really had time to reflect on what it would actually mean to figuratively hold Castle's hand throughout this whole ordeal. The writer is a good guy and a good friend, but he's also not a modest man, and tends to attract and seek out a lot of attention.

"Trust me Kevin, there's a lot more to being a proper Best Man than just organizing a party and giving a speech. You're supposed to be there for the groom so that the only thing he has to worry about is saying 'I do' on that altar. Do yourself a favor; go online and print off a list of Best Man duties. At least then you'll know what to really expect."

"Alright I can do that."

"And stop teasing Javier about being kept in the dark about all of this."

Not trusting myself to refrain from making a smart remark, I simply nod.

"Good. And here's the Davis file; you do still have a job to do, don't you Detective Ryan?" Lanie must have talked to Mother Superior, because she is pulling off the stern Catholic-nun routine perfectly.

"Yes Dr. Parrish. Thank you." I take her report and head back to the elevator.

Javi is still going through the big stack of paperwork when I get back to my desk. The look on his face shows pretty well and clear that he's still a little upset.

"I got the Davis file from Lanie." I tell him, trying to get us focused back on work. If nothing else, we can at least talk about the case and doing our jobs.

"Anything in it we don't know?"

"There is some new information from the tox screen…" I start reading off Lanie's report. My partner is listening intently, and we settle back into our familiar rhythm. I'm glad; having Javier genuinely annoyed at me is luckily a rare experience, but it's always an unpleasant one. We work on our case for a few hours until it's about lunchtime. I brought a sandwich from home so I can keep working. When I mention that to Javier, he gets a funny look on his face.

"Well I'm heading out so guess what you get to do?"

I look up at him with confusion and a little unease as a big grin appears on his face.

"Captain Gates came by and said that this paperwork needed to be done ASAP. I was going to do it, but since you're staying for lunch…"

Before I can get one word out, he dramatically drops a big stack of papers on top of my desk. I look up at him with a withering gaze.

"Where exactly are you going?" I question.

That grin of his is at the point of bursting. "Sorry Kevin I can't tell you. It's a secret." He heads towards the elevator without another word.

I size up the massive pile of papers on my desk. It'll take me hours to get through all of them.

Castle is going to owe me huge for all of this.

* * *

Javier can't stop smiling as Kevin glares balefully at him before plunging into the paperwork. Was it fair to dump all that work on his partner? Not really, but Javier isn't too concerned. If Kevin didn't want to get stuck with all that paperwork, then he should've just told Javier what the big secret is.

Knowing his colleagues, it's probably something trivial and not very interesting, but that still doesn't' give everyone permission to keep it a secret from him. Especially Ryan.

Instead of heading out of the 12th for food, he heads down to the morgue first. Unbeknownst to everyone else, Javier and Lanie have rekindled their relationship. The murder of their doppelgangers, and the possibility that Jerry Tyson might still be out there, haunting all of them, had driven Javier and Lanie together. They had spent a long evening together, each looking for comfort with the other. One thing led to another and now they're seeing each other once again.

"Hola chica." Javier greets Lanie as he comes into the morgue.

"Hello Javi." She smiles at him and leads them into the break room, since Perlmutter decided to eat lunch in the morgue.

"So what brings you down here?" She asks him.

"I hadn't seen you all morning. Besides, I thought we might grab lunch," He flashes her a roguish smile.

Despite herself, Lanie can't resist the invitation. "That sounds wonderful."

The two of them make their way to Javier's favorite local deli and order a couple of sandwiches. They manage to find a table in the crowded deli and sit down to have lunch. Their conversation is generic, mostly about work, until Javier decides to try his luck with Lanie in finding out what the big secret is. That turns out to be a big mistake on his part.

"Javier Esposito." Lanie looks at him with the stern expression of a mother about to scold her mischievous son. "You stop snooping around about this. When you need to know, you'll know. Now I don't want to hear about it again. Are we clear?"

If this were any other person, Javier would tell them off. But coming from Lanie, it makes him shrink back a little.

"Okay chica, I promise." He says quickly, trying to appease her. It seems to work.

"I would point out that we're currently keeping something from your partner, so what's the big deal if he's doing the same thing?" Lanie asks him.

"It's different. Kevin's an open book; he tells me everything, including stuff I don't want to hear. He doesn't keep secrets."

"Except for his past undercover with the Irish Mob?"

Javier doesn't have a cognizant argument to refute that point.

"You're right as usual chica."

"My advice is to just give him some room right now. He's got a lot to think about right now, especially with a baby at home keeping him up all hours of the night."

"Alright chica, you win."

"I usually do." Lanie smiles as they wrap up their meal and head back to the 12th. Javier can't help but smirk as his partner is buried under a sea of paperwork, until Lanie pokes him to wipe the smile off his face.

As she heads to the elevator watching the two detectives, Lanie shakes her head. Men.

* * *

_So what do you all think? I'm always anxious to hear what your thoughts are dear readers. I'm working to have Chapter 3 up by next Monday and maybe earlier, depending on how the creative muses are feeling. Until then…_


	3. Requests and Landmines

**Disclaimer**: _Castle_ and the recognizable characters are property of the folks at ABC and their creators who make a lot more money than I do. This is for pure entertainment purposes.

_So my muse decided to take a mini-vacation the last week or so, but they came back to work. Also, when I tried to post Chapter 2, the FF website was having some hiccups so if you didn't see it, that's probably why. Anyways, here is Chapter 3. Enjoy._

* * *

Chapter 3: Requests and Landmines

A full week has passed since Castle asked me to be his Best Man and things are all quiet on that front, much to my relief. Javier's annoyance at being kept in the dark about it all has largely disappeared. I decided it was wise to take Lanie's advice to not tease him or bother him about it. Since I've stopped that, he's stopped enquiring and we're back to normal, focusing on our cases, and me on my baby boy.

Today though, everything comes back to the forefront. Right after Beckett gave us our assignments, instead of following her, Castle approaches the two of us.

"Hey Esposito, can I ask you something real quick?"

"For the last time Castle, I'm not going to do reconnaissance on Alexis and her boyfriend for you."

"No I wasn't going to ask about that. At least not today; we'll talk again when I have tickets to the Knicks. Anyways, I was wondering, would you be one of my groomsmen?"

"Sure, no problem Castle." Esposito nods.

"Perfect, thanks Javier."

"So who did you get for your Best Man? Stephen King?"

"Very funny, but no. Kevin here is going to do it."

Javi's eyebrows arch. "So that was your big secret?"

"Yeah, now you know."

He shrugs. "That's cool, congrats bro."

Castle smiles and walks away to find Beckett.

Now that it is just the two of us, Javi looks at me. "So bro, what're you going to do about the bachelor party?"

That is an excellent question. The truth is I hadn't given the party a single thought. I don't really have a lot of experience to go off of; the one that Castle and Javi gave me in Atlantic City was a strange fluke, and I'll make damn sure we aren't in the middle of a murder investigation while the party is going on.

Actually, the night that Castle asked me to do it, I followed Lanie's advice and printed off a checklist online of all the proper duties of the Best Man. It's a lot longer than I expected or remembered. Before even getting to the bachelor party, I'm supposed to help Castle pick out tuxedoes, arrange the groomsmen's fitting, and organize transportation to and from everything. At the rehearsal dinner, I have to give a toast. I also have to hold onto the rings on the day of, sign the marriage certificate as an official witness, take care of seeing that everyone gets paid, act as a host at the reception and of course, give the big speech. It's a lot of responsibility, particularly since I know both the groom and especially the bride. Beckett is cool and calm, but she's also a woman and this is _her_ wedding above everything else. If there's a mishap of any kind, it sure as hell won't be Castle or Lanie who gets to feel Beckett's wrath. Castle has the advantage of being the groom and Lanie is her best friend. Those two are safe from any Beckett wrath, but someone will have to pay. That person will end up being me, and I'd rather be back getting tortured by Lockwood than face a truly angry bride-to-be Kate Beckett. There wouldn't be any torture; she'd just shoot me dead.

"Yo, earth to Ryan." Javi waves his hand in front of my face, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Huh?" I shake my head, completely forgetting what he asked about.

"Bachelor party? Wedding? Any of this ringing a bell?"

"Right, sorry Javi. I'm not anywhere near the bachelor party yet on the list."

"The list?"

I pull out the paper with all my duties on it. Javi scans it for a moment before handing it back to me.

"Jeez Kev, maybe it was a good thing I didn't have to do all with you."

"Now why would you say that?" I try looking at him seriously.

"Because you're so damn picky about this sort of thing." He teases.

"I'm not that picky."

"Really? If I remember right you spent thirty minutes trying to figure out what tie worked best with the tuxedos."

"Just because some of us have class and a sense of taste…"

"Some of us don't need the right tie to look awesome."

"Please Javi, we just had breakfast…"

* * *

The rest of the day is pretty routine for Javi and me. We worked on our case and I got a text message from Jenny saying that she was coming down with a cold, so I would be on baby duty for the evening. Other than that, it was a relatively normal, event-free day.

Beckett and Castle on the other hand…well, that's a different story entirely.

The two of them spent most of the morning interviewing a witness in our case and then head to Beckett's favorite hole-in-the-wall for lunch. Their conversation is going well, mostly about the case, until the wedding comes up. They're trying to find the right place to host the reception when Castle inadvertently steps on a landmine.

"That's a great place Kate. Meredith and I…." He immediately closes his mouth, realizing the mistake he made.

Kate looks up at him with a hardened stare.

"Sorry Kate I…"

"It's fine Rick." She says with almost no conviction. Really how could it be fine? She knew that there would be some tip-toeing around the fact that Rick had two ex-wives and she was prepared to endure some of it. But this is the second time he's slipped and mentioned one of his exes in the past week. For someone who is so good at the written word, he's showing a remarkable ability to put his foot in his mouth.

Now that her mind is on it, Beckett can't help the pessimism from eating into her thoughts. She's always prided herself on being an independent woman, but now she's giving up some of that independence. In return she gets Castle, not just the warm, loving man who captured her heart. She gets him and with him comes all of his baggage including Meredith, Gina, Martha and Alexis. The old saying is true; when you marry the person, you also marry their family. Beckett just wishes that it didn't include ex-wives as well.

Their lunch conversation sets the tone for the rest of the day. Beckett was all business all day. The small-talk that Castle has always enjoyed is almost nonexistent. They talk about the case and little else. Certainly not about the wedding. Castle tries very hard to think of some way of apologizing, but nothing he can think of is enough to get himself out of the corner he backed himself into.

When they get back to the Precinct, Javi and I can tell immediately that something is up. Their body language gives us enough of an idea that something is wrong. Since neither one of us has a death-wish, we both try to ignore it and absolutely, positively don't ask or mention anything about it. The rest of the afternoon is in some kind of very awkward limbo dressed up as working hard on our case. It's unpleasant for everyone and this is a rare time when I'm glad to be escaping from the 12th when it's time to leave for the day.

* * *

For Beckett and Castle though, it doesn't get much better. Dinner is tortuously difficult to get through. The few times Castle desperately tries to start talking about something else, rather than confront the 800 pound gorilla in the corner, it fails. When they get back to their apartment, the icy silence continues. It gets even worse when Castle checks his voice mail. A bad day gets even worse when he listens to the message on the phone. It's from Gina, ex-wife number 2, talking about his latest _Heat_ novel.

"Who was that?" Beckett asks curiously.

"No one." He mumbles, not wanting to antagonize her any more than he already seems to have today.

"Fine." She uses her favorite word of the day, increasing his unease.

Both of them are exhausted from the emotional stresses of the day so bedtime comes very early. Castle tries to fall asleep but can't. Everything today since lunch has raised the uncomfortable specter of his past relationships. As he lies in bed, all sorts of thoughts into his mind. _This is going to be my 3__rd__ marriage_ he thinks. _I've tried this twice before and they both fell apart._ He looks over at the sleeping figure of Beckett. He loves her so much, but his track record at this is just terrible. The number 3 keeps rearing its ugly head, a reminder of his past failings.

Unable to get to sleep and unable to find an explanation that will ease him, Castle gets out of bed and quietly changes into some casual clothes. He has two options; he can go down to the Old Haunt and drink away his troubles or he can talk with someone. Option one certainly sounds like an appealing choice; at the very least it can numb his unease until later. But, he knows that it won't make the problem go away or really make him feel better in the long-term. That really only leaves option two, going to talk to someone. With a tired sigh, Castle slips out of the apartment.

* * *

_Good? Bad? Whatever opinions you have about this chapter or the story in general, I'd love to hear them. I promise to have Chapter 4 up quicker than this one. Until then._


End file.
